21 THE WORKERS COUNCIL APRIL 15, 1921. APRIL 15, 1921.
20 THE WORKERS COUNCIL pletely abandon reformism and the notion of grow ized one, with control over the various units, the ing into Socialism; it must organize its propagan press, the elected officials, etc. and at the same time da so as to reach every element of the population; subject to the control of the membership. Only such the farmer, the Unions, the army, the co operatives, an organization can rally to its support the intellietc. And the organization itself must be a central. gent and class conscious workers of America.
Editorials ing of the principles of Socialism. Large sec the disgraceful surrender at Albany where the party tions of its membership and following were fre leaders sought to capitalize the existing American quently found voting for Hearst and municipal prejudices and illusions about Democracy and Reownership one year, Roosevelt and social justice the publican Government and the sacredness of the next, Wilson and peace in 1916 and anything to ballot. Instead of using the Albany ouster as a beat Wilson in 1920.
means of analyzing and exposing these notions the During the war, the Socialist Party for a time Party suddenly leaped forth as the defender of the moved definitely toward the Left. It supported the Constitution, as the only party that stood for Zimmerwald and Kienthal resolution condemning American liberties. The Eye Opener. the official the World War. At St. Louis in April 1917, it organ of the party, carried as a sub head For a free adopted a ringing manifesto against America en press, free speech and free assemblage.
trance into the war and called for mass opposition The process of Americanizing the Socialist Party to it. The workers, dominated by fear of the power went merrily onward at the May 1920 convention: of the state, and suffocated by the propaganda of only citizens were hereafter to be entitled to hold the Church, the Press and the of however office in the Party; the clause prohibiting Socialist failed to follow the lead of the Socialist Party. elected officials from voting for militarism was As the war progressed a ruthless campaign of stricken out, and the party went out to teach the terrorism against Socialists was inaugurated. The workers that it would make no effort to inaugurate representatives of the party in Congress and in the a Socialist regime until it had attained a majority New York Board of Aldermen failed uterly to in every branch of the government and in every maintain the declared position of the party. dis state legislature. It would be hard to find a similar satisfaction long brewing because of the opportunist declaration in any Socialist platform in any other tactics of the officialdom finally resulted in the or country. Again there was a marked decline in memganization of a Left Wing within the Party, which bership. In July the New York State convention quickly secured control of a majority of the mem wiped out the constitutional clause calling for party bership. What followed is well known. The Nation control of elected officials. At the special elections al Executive Committee of the Party, following an in September 1920, to fill the places of the five election which swept the old officials out of office, ousted Assemblymen, the campaign was made ensuspended and expelled many of the State and local tirely on the basis of Americanism and Democracy.
organizations and language federations on the Speeches of Hughes and Untermeyer and editorials ground of fraud and violation of the Party Constiof the World were circulated widely. The climax tution. Its action was sustained at the September of a policy of opportunism had been reached. The 1919 Chicago Convention. Had a number of left New York State Executive Committee was even delegates who refused to take their seats, sat in the moved to sound a note of warning at the conduct Convention, the would have been repudiat of this campaign.
ed in spite of the suspensions, and they would have The stands at present discredited in the captured the convention.
eyes of the class conscious workers of America.
Following the convention, the Socialist moveLike the of L, it has failed to analyze and ment was left hopelessly divided into two comun expose without mercy the so called American psy.
ist factions with a membership of 55, 000 and So chology; to destroy the lying notions upon which cialist Party of about 40, 000 members. In January the workers have been fed. On the contrary it has 1920. began the government policy of wholesale sought to utilize them, to build on them for temraids of communist party members, the declaring porary political victories, victories which have in of the communist party as an illegal organization every case proved to be harmful to the cause of and the consequent driving of the movement underSocialism.
ground. The two Communist parties now began to Neither can a movement entirely separated from Iose greatly in membership. The inability or re the mass of the workers and unable to bring its fusal of the leaders to unify the two parties no message to them at their shop meetings, in the press doubt contributed to this decline. The feeling that and at the street corner, succeed in breaking down an underground movement could not hope to reach the wall of prejudice against radicalism which the the masses with the message of Communism at the of has helped build up and perpetuate.
present time and dissatisfaction with the extremely Such a movement is perforce handicapped in teachmilitary form of organization adopted by the partying the masses the doctrines of Marx and Engels.
also helped to reduce the membership. În addition America is the only important country without the terrorism of the government officials played a powerful Socialist or Communist movement. The havoc with what remained. It must also be borne elements are present, namely a highly developed in mind that a great many Socialist Party mem capitalism and a proletariat unable to escape from bers had been transferred bodily into the Commun the class into which it is born. The ideas, the prinist factions without really knowing that they had ciples upon which a movement must be based have so been transferred.
been clearly enunciated by the revolutionary parties In spite of the red raids, there were many of the world meeting in the two congresses of the unmistakable signs of a growing symapthy for Sov Third International.
iet Russia and revolutionary Socialism. There be The movement which is to succeed in leading gan a steady decrease in the membership of the So the working class of America must affirm its faith cialist Party due entirely to its failure to recognize in Revolutionary Socialism, in the class struggle, the temperº of the conscious elements among the in proletarian dictatorship, and in a form of govworkers. The decline was especially marked after ernment based on Workers Councils. It must comLONG LIVE THE HONEST JUDGE! recognizes the existence of a class struggle, of a never ceasing conflict. With Karl Marx he recogThe battle that is being waged by the organized nizes that no man can hope to do justice to both clothing manufacturers all over the East and the sides, that the courts cannot find the balancing Middle West against the Amalgamated Clothing point by boxing the compass of judicial opinion Workers has been an object lesson well worth the from extreme radicalism to ultra conservatism. He closer attention of organized labor. That it has, openly admits that in a conflict between labor and in the main, been fought out before the courts, be capital The courts must stand at all times as the cause the manufacturers hoped to exhaust the fin representatives of capital, of captains of industry, ancial strength of the organization by expensive devoted to the principle of individual initiative, legal proceedings, serves only to add to its signi protect property and persons from violence and des ficance. No piece of radical literature, no inflamma struction, strongly opposed to all schemes for the tory speech could demonstrate more clearly the nationalization of industry, and yet save labor from hopelessness of the workingmen position in pres oppression, and conciliatory toward the removal of ent day society, could show with more brutal frank the workers just grievances.
ness that all the powers of the state, from the mean In other words, Judge van Siclen realizing that est policeman on his rounds, to the highest courts there can be no neutrality, no understanding, no jusin the country, stand in a solid phalanx to protect tice between capital and labor, places the judiciary the interests of the capitalist class.
of the country four square upon the side of capital, But of all the decisions rendered against the Am proclaiming to the world the dictatorship of the algamated in the last few weeks and months, none ruling class, upheld and perpetuated by the courts deserves more credit for frankness than that of in the name of democracy.
Judge James van Siclen of the Brooklyn Sup We who have spent a lifetime in the vain enreme Court. In granting an injunction against the deavor to bring this truth home to the American Amalgamated to the firm of Schwartz Jaffee, Inc. working class, owe Judge van Siclen a vote of the judge leaves nothing to the imagination. Indeed thanks. When once these representatives of justice were it not signed by his Honor name, portions have shown to a disillusioned working class that of his statement, we fear, would be sufficient to land the courts are but the servants, the lackeys, of their some unfortunate communist in jail. Surely one can oppressors, when labor loses its blind reverence for hardly ask for a more masterly and more convinc the impartial sacredness of our courts and of our ing exposition on the existence of a bitter class laws and institutions, when it learns, like Judge struggle in the United States than that here given: van Siclen, to take sides in the class war, our work The issue between the parties, says Judge van is almost done.
Siclen, is. nothing more than the old conflict beween capital and labor. The swing of the pendulum PROPERTY HOLDERS, UNITE!
is influenced almost entirely by the law of supply und demand, and neither capital nor labor at any To the advanced proletariat and to sociallytime is satisfied to be governed by the length or minded, thinking men and women of America gensweep to and fro.
When capital has the up erally it is a truism that the American Constitution per hand it will continue to grind down labor, and is, as it was intended to be by its authors, a bulwark when labor is in the ascendant it will in turn con of private property, guarantee of the perpetuatinue to harass, cheat and seek to either control or tion of the class rule of the property owning classes.
destroy capital. Neither at any time is willing to So, while it is not surprising to us that the Appellate give the quid pro quo, and the never ceasing conflict Division of the Supreme Court in affirming the congoes on.
viction of Ben Gitlow declared the anarchy law There is nothing new in the foregoing sentences, passed in the excitement following the assassination to be sure, nothing that has not been said over and of President McKinley to be in full accord with the over again by every socialist writer and speaker Constitution, this will be a healthy shock to the since the time when Marx and Engels first based many sincerely liberal Americans who have been their messages to the working class upon that same accustomed to regard the Constitution as an infundamental theory of the class war. New, however, strument of democratic rule and a safeguard of popis the official recognition of this class war by an ular liberties.
American Court of Justice. Hitherto it has been the To prove that Gitlow feloniously advocated, adestablished custom of all courts where conflicts be vis and taught the duty, necessity, and propriety tween capital and labor were brought to trial, to of overthrowing and overturning organized Govcling to the old fiction that all men in this republic ernment by force, violence and unlawful means, it are free and equal before the law. Judge van Siclen was merely necessary for Justice Laughlin to point scorns such shallow pretense. With Karl Marx he to the criminal doctrines contained in the Loft